The Buddy System

Hi you all,

If you’re Canadian, or have been following the Prime Minister elections, you know that a lot of change is on its way. For the first time in a long time, the Liberal Party been elected with a majority government! Pretty impressive stuff, considering how close the projections were. Hope all you Canadians went out and voted; as the great Mahatma Gandhi said, we must “be the change we want to see in the world”. And whether you voted Liberal or not, the important thing is you got a chance to state your opinion. Stop and think for a second how fortunate we all are just for having the right to do that.

But now that the election is over, does this mean our work is done? Absolutely not! Quite the contrary, actually. It’s one thing to ask for change, but another to actually get up and be a part of it. OK, I get it, we can’t all be politicians; to be honest most of us wouldn’t touch those jobs with a 10 foot pole. But we’re still responsible for monitoring our leaders closely, and keeping them in check. We’re their “accountability buddies”, and because we want to make sure they succeed, we have to make sure we follow up with them, correct?

All this politics stuff got me thinking about accountability partners. Truth is, and studies have showed, that we’re way more likely to succeed in situations where we have not only the support of others, but when we can experience challenges together. The bond created during challenge is so strong, most of us would be very disappointed in letting our accountability buddies down. So basically, we’re setting ourselves up for a way better chance at success if we have someone to either support us through the journey, or run the journey with us. So here’s my question for you all: are you really ready to be the change you’d like to see in your life? If the answer is yes, then either you’ve already chosen an accountability buddy, or you’re going over your list of friends and deciding who it is you’d like to pick. Don’t worry if the answer is no; just knowing that there are changes that you’d like to make is a good start. 

Now, here’s a fun experiment for you: next time you go swimsuit shopping, make a decision that you’ll have a good experience, and take an accountability buddy with you. That way if you stumble upon a bikini that doesn’t look so great, you’ll have someone there to say “on to the next one”, or “maybe we should try another color”, or anything else. The important thing is that we’re keeping a positive mind, which will make finding a swimsuit that you like a much easier and enjoyable task. And let’s face it: wouldn’t it be nice, for a change, to put your swimsuit on, look into a mirror, and the first thing we hear to be a compliment, or some encouragement? If your inner voice still needs some training (and don’t let it get the better of you, btw!!), then let your accountability partner do the work. Trust me, it is WAY more fun, and more likely that you’ll achieve your goal.

Happy Swimsuit Hunting!! And let me know how the experiment works for you all!